I was introduced to backpacking about 15 years ago when I met my
husband. We have been backpacking, canoe camping, car camping,
hiking, and participating in all sorts of outdoor activities ever
since. We live in a border town (US & Canada), so we spend lots
of
time in both countries for our outdoor excursions. When making a
decision on gear, I like
to go lightweight and practical. I don't like to carry around
extraneous bits and pieces.

I
received six single serving packages of the LUNA Sport Moons, two of
each flavour. Each single serving packet contains 12 Moons. The
packaging opens at the top left hand corner via its serrated cut line.

The LUNA Sport literature enclosed with the package and the
packaging outlines the following features for the Moons:

The LUNA Sport Moons are designed to replace energy and electrolytes
during activity lasting an hour or more. The recommended consumption
rate is one package for each hour of activity. Each Moon is smaller in
size than other brands of energy chews to fit a woman's smaller mouth. The Moons
are certified organic, although I couldn't find how much of the
ingredients are organic.

I plan on
consuming the Moons while hiking, running, snowshoeing, snowboarding and
for gym-based workouts. I will be checking on the taste, texture,
ease of use, packability, durability, and appropriateness to the
activity while consuming the Moons. Since there is such a limited amount
of product to test, I didn't taste test the Moons for the sake of the initial report. I will be
saving them to use in my upcoming activities over the next few weeks.

FIELD REPORT
Date: April 29, 2008

About 2 weeks after the first batch of LUNA Sport Moons arrived, another package came from the manufacturer with an
additional 2 packages of individual serving packages in each flavour for a total of 12 packages of product.
Yay! All but 4 packets were consumed over the past three months.

Testing Conditions and Locations:The weather has been ideal
this winter; we've had heavy snowfall during
the week with the weekends sunny and clear. The temperatures ranged
from -10 to 23 C (14 to 73 F) for the weekends over the course of the
Field Report period. During the week is a different story. Snow
accumulation has been up to 0.6 m (2 ft) in less than 12 hours on a
couple of occasions. We've also had frigid temperatures dropping to -29
C (-20 F) with winds blowing out of the east at 33 km/h (20 mph). I
generally avoid doing much physical activity outdoors on those days.

Locations I consumed the Moons were in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and
the Hiawatha Highlands in the Algoma region, just outside of Sault Ste.
Marie. This area has many linked trails meandering through red and white pine old-growth forests
and dense
boreal stands of jack pine and spruce linked by a network of rivers,
lakes, and
wetlands. I also took them with me when ice hiking on Lake Superior near Batchewana Bay, Ontario. Elevations range from 225 to 315 m (738 to 1033 ft) above sea level.
I used the LUNA Sport Moons snowshoeing, hiking, and running over
the past three months. The
snowshoeing and hiking excursions were generally from 1-3 hours long. I didn't
keep track of the snowshoeing mileage as we were
meandering along trails that weren't necessarily marked and sometimes
making our own trails. Hikes were from 4 to 7 km (2.5 to 4.4 mi) long
and runs were just under 4 km (2.5 mi). Since I have 4 packages left, I
consumed 8 packages over the past 12 weeks.

Before Consuming the Moons:
I carried the Moons either in the top pocket of my backpack while
snowshoeing and hiking or in a jacket or pants pocket while running.
The packaging was easy to open - both the lower and upper edges of the
packaging was serrated so that I could tear the package easily anywhere
along its length. The packaging was then easily stowed back in my pack
or pocket until I could dispose of it.

Consuming the Moons:
Although each flavour of the Moons had its own unique taste, I didn't
favour any one over the others. I equally enjoyed all three. They
weren't over powering nor were the flavours too weak. They have a
texture similar to that of a Gummi Bear candy (a small rubbery-textured
candy in the shape of a bear).

I consumed the moons on a couple of my runs, but at 4 km (2.5 mi) I
found the runs were much to short to necessitate the need for an energy
chew. I didn't notice any appreciable difference between a run where I
ate the moons and one that I didn't. I used these runs as more of a
test for the consistency of the Moons at various temperatures. On -16 C
(3 F) day, I took the Moons out of the packaging at home and put them
in an outside pocket so that they would be more exposed to the cold.
They remained chewy, but the outside did get a bit tougher. After a few
seconds of resting against the inside of my cheek, the Moons
warmed and were easily chewed. I also noted that on the runs it was
difficult to continue running and chew at the same time. It made
breathing harder to do as I am primarily a mouth breather during
aerobic activity.

The Moons are much more suited to a longer snowshoe or hike. I ate the
other 6 packages while either snowshoeing or hiking. I didn't feel
drained nor did I notice any appreciable hunger after a hike or
snowshoe that I ate the Moons on.

I am very happy to say the Moons are a nice alternative to eating an
energy bar or other such trail snack. They provide me with an adequate
amount of energy without making me feel bloated or too full. I would
definitely consider the Moons as a snack choice for my future
backpacking and hiking trips.

Likes:
Easily opened packaging
Taste of all flavours

Dislikes:
None!

This
concludes my Field Report. Thank you to
BackpackGearTest and Clif Bar & Co. for the opportunity to test the LUNA SportMoons.

Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.